


On Withdrawal from Only Light

by AceandShadow



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Broken, Cayde doesn't like Warlocks, Corruption, Darkness, Delusions, Ghost is sad, Hatred, Interrogation, Light Withdrawal, Lightless Guardian, Lore-Compliant, Murder, Post-Red War (Destiny), Pre-Forsaken (but only just), Shaxx gets angry, Shaxx rages, Twisted Minds, no help, wait why does that warlock have a knife?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:27:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23369980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceandShadow/pseuds/AceandShadow
Summary: Panza was the first Ghost to report his decision to leave his Guardian unrezzed as his diseased mind would surely doom them allSince then, no other Ghost has been left with that decision and Tirit would do everything in his power to prevent that from happening to his Guardian - Rix-8. But since the Red War, some Guardians never recovered from their detachment from the Light. Some couldn't shake the feeling and Rix was one of them, only he wasn't prepared to change that as he developed a dangerous, newfound love for the Dark. Tirit couldn't bare to see his Guardian fall. Desperate times call for desperate measures
Kudos: 8





	1. A Change in Behaviour

**Author's Note:**

> Starts off as a simple interrogation. 'By the book,' ya know? It doesn't stay that way

The Praxic Warlocks don’t get called forward for minor situations with the Guardians. Zavala doesn’t get involved with individual Guardian needs. Shaxx doesn’t see the need for anything other than sharpening the wits of Guardians in the Crucible. Ikora only appears when she is summoned by the Praxic Warlocks and Cayde never bothered to attend meetings and consensuses that contained the information for Guardians wellbeing. But there’s a first time for everything, and every so often, there was a detrimental case that would flip the Consensus’ priorities upside down.

Panza was the first Ghost to come back to the Praxic Warlocks to admit what he’d done. He was the first on record to commit this action. His Guardian was diseased, broken. His enthusiasm was an illusion and if he had stood for longer than he had, the Vanguard would have had to intervene in ways they would have preferred not to. Panza never recovered from his act – leaving his Guardian unrezzed. The Praxic Warlocks had to file a report and ensure that Panza was protected with the Vanguard Spectral Network under the watchful eyes of Michah-10. After that, they thought they had avoided all possibilities of another diseased Guardian running wild.

But that was before the Red War.

The Speaker was dead, and Guardians were beginning to start to find their feet again, but for some, it was proving more difficult than expected. Some found that the loss of the Speaker was an opening for undoing, and in an attempt to fill the void the Speaker had left, they only lost themselves.

Rix-8, an Exo Warlock, was locked in a detainment cell screaming as he shook in the corner with his Ghost, Tirit, in the opposite corner staring at him with fear in his light. Rix had been on the run for months following the Red War screeching tell of ‘Golden Darkness that will be the salvation for the Guardians to relieve them of the burden of protecting the universe.’ But this wasn’t the preaching of newfound wisdom. Rix had been suffering Light withdrawal symptoms from the moment Ghaul stole the Light from them. He often claimed that he had seen the true colour of the Darkness and that the Light would never return and so the Guardians should accept their fate and turn to their new ways. When the Light returned, he sought only to expose it as a false replacement by the Vanguard. At the time, the Vanguard over-looked him as someone with delusions of grandeur, but it was when he began killing Guardians in the name of the Darkness, that Zavala called for the Praxic Warlocks to step in.

Tirit had sent an encoded message in his final report after a ‘patrol’ that both him and Rix had completed, and he declared it a state of emergency.

The Vanguard found it difficult to bring Rix back to the Tower and it wasn’t until Cayde had used his Exo charm to convince him that he believed in the Darkness as well – to some form of truth. Cayde had walked into the Tower, Rix in tow, and waltzed straight up to Zavala when Rix realised it was a stick up and made a break for it. It took the whole Vanguard to chase him down and it wasn’t until he crossed The Drifter, did they catch him. The Drifter put his hand on Rix’s shoulder, and he stopped running.

“Hey. That’s a strong, dark presence you got here, brother...” Drifter whispered. Rix slowly turned to face him.

“You know? You can see it? The future?” Rix got on his knees. “Then you know what must be done, right? We must die for it! We can’t stay in the Light.” He tugged at Drifter’s robe. “Help me...” Rix asked. Drifter got down on one knee and held Rix with both hands on his shoulders.

“Oh, I’ll help you son. I’ll help you...” his voice trailed off as he looked up and Rix felt a third hand on his shoulder – Zavala. Cayde was standing directly behind him with a set of handcuffs and Ikora held a suppression collar. Rix was carried away to the containment cells and Tirit looked at Ikora.

“Can we bring him back?” he asked, quietly. Ikora closed her eyes. She never said a word, but she didn’t need to. Tirit knew.

Zavala, Shaxx, Ikora and Cayde were the first people to enter the containment cell after they put him away, hearing him screaming and rocking back and forth. Tirit was still watching him as Cayde opened the cell door.

“Have you come to embrace the Darkness yet?” Rix asked.

“Look, buddy, we gotta sort you out. You’re not so good,” Cayde attempted to reassure Rix, knowing full well that it wasn’t going to calm him down in the slightest.

“No! You don’t understand, Hunter, for you are too blinded by the Light!” Rix shouted as Cayde sighed and rolled his head to face Ikora.

“Get Aunor in here, I can’t be dealing with this. This is effort I can’t afford to give right now,” he said as he hauled Rix up off the floor and both him and Shaxx dragged him over to a chair in the interrogation room.

Ikora followed slowly behind them with her arms folded. How could a Warlock have gotten into this mess? She knew of only Titans and Hunters going rogue – Titans had more brawl than brains and Hunters would spend too long too far away and rarely return in the same state they left in.

“I don’t think Aunor can give any more than we can, Cayde. This type of situation rarely occurs. Most die their final deaths and, after that, it’s just paperwork. This is different,” she said, quiet, but firm.

Cayde looked at her strained as he and Shaxx held Rix down. “Look, Ikora, you of all people know I am not cut out for this job and I have to make an effort somehow, but even this is too far out for me. You _need_ to get someone more qualified for this. Aunor needs to be here and now.”

“As much as it pains me to say it, Ikora, but Cayde is right. We cannot handle this alone. The Praxic Order needs to be involved – the sooner, the better,” Shaxx said, turning his head to look at Ikora from underneath his helmet.

Ikora sighed and dropped her arms. Something about getting the Praxic Order involved made things more real for her, like this was a real problem. It was, there was no doubt about it and solving it could bring forth new knowledge on how to deal with the next one to come along. But Ikora didn’t want to see it.

Nonetheless, she called for Aunor to make her way down to the interrogation room by the holding cells and asked for her to bring Tirit with her as he was still in the holding cells. They had no reason to keep him locked away. It was for his protection. They didn’t know what Rix was capable of and feared for his Ghost.

Tirit took some convincing to come with Aunor. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was scared of what his Guardian had become. He wondered if it was him that had allowed it to happen – if he’d missed something along the way that could have stopped it. Tirit thought he should have done. He knew this Guardian better than he knew himself and this had all happened under his watchful Light.


	2. The Deeper You Dig

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vanguard stand in front of their broken Warlock, hoping to gain some information as to his plans to 'spread the dark' and his new teachings, but Rix is either being *too* cooperative, or not cooperative at all. All they know is he's getting to them and they need to put a stop to it

The Vanguard, Shaxx and Aunor stood in front of Rix as he sat at the table, hands restrained in front of him, silently staring into each soul that stood before him. He eyed them all very carefully up until he caught sight of Tirit, slowly bobbing up and down cautiously slightly behind Shaxx’s shoulder. His face changed. It relaxed a little bit. His eyes were still cold. He wasn’t there, really, but something about the sight of his Ghost changed him – light reality hit home.

“Lord Shaxx,” Tirit peeped in Shaxx’s ear, “this isn’t my Guardian…”

Shaxx didn’t turn around, but he acknowledged the little Light’s plea and folded his arms. He leant into Aunor stood next to him.

“Watch that Light. I think he’s more dangerous to this than the Guardian,” he whispered. Aunor dropped her arms and turned him around so that their backs were to Rix.

“What on earth is _that_ supposed to mean?” she whispered sharply. “How can a scared little Ghost be dangerous when he has watched his Guardian fall to pieces?”

“You know what happens when someone can’t let go. He called an emergency because he wants us to fix this Guardian meaning he isn’t ready to let him go. Who knows what he’ll end up doing?”

“Shaxx…” Aunor sighed, shaking her head. “Look, we’ll sort it, alright, but for now, I just need to know where the hell his mind’s at. Just…you’re on Ghost duty, alright? He doesn’t touch Rix and Rix doesn’t touch him, got it?”

Shaxx nodded his head and they both turned to see Rix locked in mental engagement with Cayde, both their eyes shining as bright a blue as possible. A stand-off, almost.

Some people don’t understand how Exos work. Aunor and Shaxx were some of those people. The way they saw the two of them locked in sight, they wondered if they were exchanging information, or verbally abusing one another in their heads. No one really knew and every Exo denied it. But they learnt the hard way never to take an Exo’s word for anything.

“Cayde?” Aunor said, interrupting the staring contest. Cayde turned to look at her, his arms still folded. He had a look on his face, but it wasn’t fear and it wasn’t anger.

“I’m not working on this. I will stay here and be an extra pair of arms and nothing more.” Cayde was very astute with the way he phrased his statement. Aunor didn’t say anything. She figured it wasn’t worth the battle – one deranged Exo would be enough for her.

The Guardians turned their attention to Rix. Ikora put her hands on the table and leant forward.

“Do you still remember your name?” she asked. Rix nodded.

“Rix-8. Guardian to guide Guardians from the Light.”

Ikora shook her head. “Just Rix-8,” she corrected as she took a seat in front of him, Zavala stood directly behind her. “Do you understand why you are here?”

“Because you seek to oppose me – to oppress me – for you have been swayed by the Traveler – deceived, brainwashed. I have broken away from such mind-bent atrocities to come out on top, and you have been sent to suppress my stance.” Rix leant forward and narrowed his eyes. “Try me…” he whispered sternly.

Ikora sat back, trying her hardest not to show any fear towards what this Warlock could do.

Aunor stepped in.

“Rix, we’re not here to oppress you. We merely wish to understand your mind – why you see things the way that you do.” She paused and looked away. “Also, because 16 Guardians are either dead or missing because of you and we need to know…everything. We need to know what you did to them.”

Rix sat back in his chair to ponder Aunor’s request. He was not afraid of his position. Even the looming shadow of a daunting Titan Vanguard in the room struck no nerve in Rix. He met his gaze square on without a doubt and was almost able to shoot the gaze straight back to strike a nerve in Zavala himself. Almost.

“I tried to persuade them that the path of the Light is wrong.” Rix dipped his head and his eyes dimmed. The tone in his voice changed and he took it down to a faint whisper. “They attacked me. They said I was delusional, deranged, broken. They said I needed rebooting…” he sounded as if he could cry, but then he began shouting, almost begging. “You can’t do that! You can’t make me! I won’t go through it again!”

This took Cayde’s attention. He thought to the times he was rebooted, and he wouldn’t do it again. Not after 6. Then he thought about Rix’s number. 8. Two more times than him. He knew he couldn’t go through it again, not that he’d ever admit it. Then he thought about Banshee. 44…then he couldn’t think about it anymore. The very thought made him shudder, but he knew he couldn’t defend someone who killed Guardians for difference of opinion.

“No-one is going to do anything until you’re done talking,” Ikora said, trying to calm Rix down before he began another screaming episode.

“You’ll say anything if you get what you want,” Rix responded firmly. Aunor stepped in.

“Rix, please. We aren’t here to punish you. We aren’t here to…’brainwash’ you and we aren’t here to judge you. We just want to understand you. We want to know why you deemed it okay to kill 16 Guardians and preach false tell.”

Rix looked at Aunor in shock.

“False tell?! I’ll have you know that _you_ preach false tell.” Rix then looked away from the Vanguard. “I only killed 13 Guardians, anyway.”

Shaxx looked as though he could blow a fuse at any given moment. He enjoyed sharpening the skill of the Guardians in the Crucible but finding out they were intentionally killed by another Guardian rattled his cages. He became quite protective of the Guardians.

“So, 3 Guardians are still missing?” he asked, trying with all his might not to wring the neck of the Exo Warlock in front of him.

“I guess so,” Rix responded. He had not a care in the world according to the tone of voice in which he answered. His face started blank, but his gears shifted in the same fashion as a human face would crease during the formation of a smile.

And in the same way human eyes would shine brighter, his eyes glowed with the challenge. But unlike a smile of happiness, his smile was psychotic…maniacal…evil…

Shaxx threw his head back and placed his palm over his helmet where his forehead would be. Woefully, he shook his head and paced side to side before opening the door with brute force, scrunching the handle and slamming it on his way out.

Without hesitation, Ikora quickly followed, pausing at the door just in time to hear Rix allow himself a little cackle – one that got even Zavala a little nervous.


	3. Truth Hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tensions rise as Aunor and Zavala attempt to get more information out of Rix and Cayde is left unsure of his position in the interrogation. Rix becomes testing against the Vanguard forces, Shaxx loses his temper over the losses made in his Crucible and Tirit makes a decision determining his future before it can begin

“What is this, Ikora?” Shaxx demanded as he continued pacing up and down the hallway. “What is this…this _Guardian_?”

Ikora could only look at Shaxx. She had never seen him look this uneasy – something definitely unsettled him, and she wasn’t used to this behaviour from him.

_What about this Guardian has done this to him?_

Shaxx stopped to look her in the eyes. He took her by her shoulders, towering over her.

“Ikora, you are the fiercest creature I have ever seen in my Crucible. I wouldn’t have liked to have seen more. But…this…” he trailed off as he dropped his head. “10 Guardians are dead. They died in _my_ Crucible. They were _murdered_ in _my_ Crucible. _MY CRUCIBLE, IKORA!”_

_Oh, it wasn’t the Guardian that rattled Shaxx…_

“Shaxx, please, calm down,” Ikora reassured him as she placed her hands on his arms as they maintained their grip on her shoulders, “it wasn’t a target at your Crucible. It was the most effective way to deal his doings under the radar.” At this point, she wasn’t sure who she was trying to reassure.

“That’s not my point, Ikora,” Shaxx said, letting go of her – this time quieter. “My point is my Crucible has always been a safe environment for Guardians to sharpen their skills as they would sharpen their blades. To have this happen in said ‘safe environment’ is a deterrent for others. They would return to the battle having gone days – maybe weeks – untrained and that weakens our forces.”

He paused for a moment before turning away.

“After Twilight Gap, I forged this Crucible so that we would be better prepared for the next war – and we were. But all that has changed, and I’ve adapted where I could, but I could not prepare for…this.”

_He blames himself for the Guardian’s deaths?_

“Shaxx, please. No-one saw this coming.”

“It’s a mess, Ikora. How many more of these Guardians are there?”

Ikora couldn’t answer that. She didn’t know how. Instead, she could only resort to what Aunor had told him earlier.

“You should return to Tirit. He needs you.”

“He’s coming with me. We’re going in the secure room where we can hear what he has to say for himself, otherwise he’s going to find himself needing a reboot sooner than he wants.” Shaxx stormed back into the interview room and had Tirit follow him back out, eyeing Rix very carefully as he left.

He and Tirit watched from there, but Tirit could feel Shaxx seething the longer this went on.

Cayde had taken a step back and stood closer to the door. There was something about seeing another Exo in such a mess that made him feel uncomfortable.

Zavala wanted to get a word in as Aunor continued to question the Exo.

“Rix. At the end of the day, whatever it is you have to say for yourself, you have killed ten Guardians and three are missing. You will pay for this,” he asserted.

Rix smiled.

“They deserved to die.”

Aunor looked at Rix and saw he had no remorse in his eyes. She knew, then, that there was no hope of bringing him back.

“Why do you think they deserved to die, then, Rix?” she asked, calmly. Aunor was ever the most collected during an interrogation. At least, until she didn’t need to be…

“They crawled back to the Light the first chance they got. The Dark shows us our true strengths and I will show them all the power of the Dark, even if I’m the last one standing when the dust settles. I will take you all on,” Rix was very clear with the Vanguard, his voice never wavering – showing no signs of backing down.

Cayde left. He had no intention of watching this go down any more than he already had. It was bad enough that the Exo could relate to the fear of being rebooted, but to see how badly he needed it to become sane again… It pushed him into his deepest core and reminded him of how many times he came so close.

Aunor sat down and eyed Rix very carefully. She was buying time for she had no idea what she needed to say to get information out of him. They needed to know where the three missing Guardians were and fast and they had no idea how much time they had, nor had they gotten to the bottom of why Rix was so _hellbent_ on building a greater forge with the Darkness.

Why was he so against the Light and why did he think the Vanguard were his true enemies? What was in his head?

Zavala wasn’t waiting anymore. He wanted to know where his Guardians were, and he wanted to know _now_. He was prepared to go beyond the rules of the City and beat the information out of him.

He pounded his fists on the table, making Rix jump.

“The Guardians, Rix! Where are they?!”

Rix sat in shock for a moment, giving Zavala a false sense of achievement before his eyes turned bright and his face creased into maniacal laughter. Ikora shuddered in the back of the room and Shaxx, elsewhere with Tirit, could hear the deranged Exo as he chuckled in the face of adversity.

“You all think you’re so smart, don’t you? You’ve had me here for hours questioning the whereabouts of three missing ‘Guardians’ when you could have been searching for them!”

Aunor leant forward so that she was inches from Rix’s face. “Where. Are. They? What have you done with them?” she whispered through gritted teeth.

Rix leant in closer to Aunor - into her ear, unafraid of her stance before him and he lowered his voice to a whisper. “Nothing. I have done…nothing.”

With that, both Rix and Aunor slowly sat back in their seats, each with a different expression on their faces. Aunor – shock. Rix – pride.

“What do you mean ‘nothing’?” Aunor asked, her voice only whispers.

“What more is there to say, really?” Rix was too confident. Shaxx was sure that he would slip up and make a mistake eventually. “I didn’t _do_ anything to them…”

Ikora had picked up what Rix was putting down and she sighed in despair. “You didn’t _do_ anything to them, so what did you _say_ to them?”

Rix laughed again as if it were only a joke to him. How he loved the torment he gave the Vanguard. It gave him a sense of power that he had never felt before. Zavala could sense that power on him and it was noticeable.

“I merely told them what they so desperately wanted to hear – the true pathway of their powers.”

In the secure room elsewhere, Shaxx and Tirit could see and hear everything that was going on.

“Shaxx… That’s not my Guardian…”

Shaxx sighed. “Tirit, you must know something. You must have seen what he has done in my Crucible…” he was clenching his fists, trying to calm his ever-building rage.

Tirit was nervous. He should have kept a watch on Rix to see what he was doing but he was so confident in his Guardian that he didn’t think he needed to. He allowed him to continue pushing him away.

_He didn’t think…_

“I’m sorry, Shaxx. I didn’t know…” his voice was so quiet and so nervous as he feared it was him that allowed his Guardian to spiral. He was so scared of what would happen that he stopped bobbing in the air altogether and slumped on the table behind them. Shaxx looked at the solemn Ghost as he looked as though he could shed tears, and then back to the feed.

He looked to Tirit then back to the feed.

To Tirit. To the feed.

Shaxx could see the smirk that Rix had plastered across his face – the smirk of a _dickhead_ who had killed good Guardians in _his_ Crucible… on _his_ watch…

The smirk that Rix showed gave Shaxx all he needed to lose it like he had never done before. He burst into the room, reached over the table and grabbed Rix by the throat and pinned him up against the wall behind him. Rix didn’t even attempt to struggle – he revelled in Shaxx’s anger and seeing him rage for the first time since Twilight Gap. He could just imagine his face under the helmet as he pressed the Exo against the wall, Aunor and Zavala unsure of what to do while Ikora ran to Tirit.

The Ghost refused to move. He wanted to remain hidden. Unseen. _Unpartnered._


	4. Lost to The Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shaxx reaches a new level of distress when Rix tests his patience some more and Ikora has a Ghost that needs his light back. All seems to be heading in the right direction until Rix makes a deal with Aunor that puts Tirit in danger and Cayde comes back believing he can still save Rix only to find that he was too late

Pressed against the wall, his circuits sparking and spluttering, Rix did not fear what Shaxx would do to him. He knew that he was safe as the Vanguard still needed answers from him and therefore could not afford to lose him to Shaxx’s unchecked aggression.

“Lord Shaxx, put him down, we’re not done,” Zavala asserted, walking closer to him.

Shaxx did nothing. He just kept pressing Rix against the wall, eyeing his snide smile as it increased in size.

Aunor was still sat at the table with her head in her hands, refusing to acknowledge the situation.

_How did it go so wrong so fast?_

She despaired when she thought about the three missing Guardians. Rix had planted such dark thoughts into their minds, and they had no idea where to find them. For all they knew, they could be out doing Rix’s dirty work right under their noses.

They just really needed to know why Rix had attached himself to the Darkness and why he thought that preaching such horrors would amend the Guardians’ needs.

Meanwhile in the secure room, Tirit had shuffled himself further into the corner and Ikora had knelt beside him.

“Tirit? You can come back from this. None of this is your fault…” she reassured. Much to her disappointment, Tirit did not feel the same way.

“It’s _all_ my fault,” he whispered. “I couldn’t save him when I had the chance. Ikora? Does this mean I’m a bad Ghost?” His eye shone a little brighter as he looked up at Ikora.

Ikora sighed. “No, Tirit. The only bad Ghost is one who thinks so little of himself as to believe that he is the cause of a Guardian’s downfall. Tirit, you can only do so much for your Guardian. They have to do most of the thinking themselves and if they don’t listen to you when they need to, then that’s on them. You are not responsible for their actions and so this isn’t your fault.”

“Even if we can still save him, I’m scared it will happen again. I’m useless.”

“Even if we decide today that we cannot bring him back from the dark reaches of his mind, you can still be useful. We have a Guardian – Michah-10. He helps unpartnered Ghost in our Spectral Network be useful to us, even without a Guardian to call their own.”

Tirit didn’t say anything and the two of them sat in silence for a few minutes while they pondered what had been said.

“You are of no use to us in your current state, Tirit. We still need you. Come into the room with us and we’ll see what we can do…”

Slowly, Tirit floated up from the floor, although his bobbing pattern was still nervous, and Ikora escorted him to the door of the interrogation room where they could hear Zavala yelling at Shaxx, still trying to get him to drop Rix and walk away.

“Lord Shaxx, do you want us to get justice for those Guardians in the Crucible or not? Because the longer you have that Warlock pinned up against the wall, the longer it will take and the more time we lose on finding the missing three. Now, put him down!”

Shaxx growled as though he were an animal, but he carefully placed Rix so that his feet were once again in contact with the ground and he awkwardly brushed himself down before returning to the table and placing himself in front of Aunor.

“I’ll make a deal,” he began smoothly as if he hadn’t just been choked by the Crucible handler. “Remove my cuffs and I’ll talk.”

“You really don’t know how this works, do you?” Aunor said quietly, eyeing the Warlock as he sat in false innocence.

“It’s really not hard. I am making a deal, but if you’re not interested, then I shall adhere to my right to remain silent.”

“Take his fucking cuffs off I want this sorted!” Shaxx yelled before Aunor could even open her mouth to object. She wasn’t prepared to take chances, but she was more intimidated by a supercharged Striker Titan who had just pinned someone against the wall, than an Exo Warlock who would rather play in the Dark than in the Light.

Carefully, she reached over the table and removed the suppressor cuffs from the Warlock, and he sat back and sighed deeply.

“That’s better,” he said, exasperated.

Ikora and Tirit walked through the door and into the interrogation room, aware that Shaxx had calmed down somewhat so that Tirit felt safe.

However, he was far from safe as Rix made eye contact with Tirit and his tune changed dramatically, and he became very hostile.

“What’s that little shit doing in my face? I thought you’d get rid of him!”

“Rix, this is your Ghost. He is here to help you – as are we all – but we need you to cooperate,” Aunor said trying to calm him down. It was not working.

“Get. This. Shit. Away from me!”

Tirit became incredibly nervous and bobbed closer to Ikora, hoping she would provide some protection as he feared what Rix would do to him.

“This little pussy told me I shouldn’t walk in the Dark. He is with you, isn’t he? He just didn’t want me to find out how beautiful the Dark really is. He is not here to help me. He is here to oppress me! Well I won’t stand for it anymore!” With that, he shot up out of his chair and unsheathed a knife from his boot.

“Where the hell did he get that knife?” Aunor said as she mirrored Rix’s movement and got up from her chair in panic.

“YOU DIDN’T FRISK HIM?!” Shaxx bellowed as he backed away from Rix.

Tirit could feel Rix’s anger as he walked slowly towards him. He tried to move with Ikora, but Rix just kept creeping around the table.

Before anyone could do anything, Rix reached across the table and grabbed Tirit out of the air and held him tightly in the palm of his hand.

“You are going to pay for everything you’ve done…” Rix whispered as Tirit whimpered in his hand.

“Rix, if you kill that Ghost, you can’t come back from it…” Ikora warned, but Rix wasn’t listening. He was too focussed on his little Light as it trembled before him.

The whole room grinded to a halt as Rix plunged the knife into Tirit’s optics and his shell stopped shivering and his light stopped shining. With zero emotion, Rix simply lifted his head and made eye contact with everyone in the room and dropped the lifeless Ghost onto the floor and he landed with a clatter.

“Problem sorted,” Rix retorted, proud of what he had just done.

As the Vanguard stood in shock at what had just happened, Shaxx grew in rage. No one knew why he was so angered by the whole ordeal, but he was struggling to control it, nonetheless.

He leapt across the room and jumped on Rix, pinning him to the floor and holding his head to the ground, crushing his circuits again.

Ikora rushed to recover the Ghost shell from the floor, not that she knew what to do with it. She had spent so long comforting him. This was not the way he should have gone.

“Shaxx!” Zavala yelled, “there’s nothing more we can do here. Just restrain him and put him away. He is of no use, now.”

Shaxx paused for a moment, maintaining the pressure on Rix’s body, before punching the ground right next to his head, denting the floor.

“Fine, but he gets nothing more from me,” he said exasperated as he hauled the Exo up off the floor and replaced the suppressor cuffs on his wrists.

The room stood awkwardly as no one was sure of what to do with him. They couldn’t let him go, for many reasons and they certainly couldn’t bring him back to his original state. Not anymore.

The silence was broken by Cayde bursting into the room. He had missed everything that had just happened, yet he wasn’t bothered. He had come bearing good news, for a change.

“Scouts just radioed in. Three Guardians have just been recovered attacking a strike-in-progress…”

The room came to a standstill once again as all eyes were on Cayde.

“What?” he asked. “I thought you’d be happy – we got ‘em! _And_ no one else died!” Cayde was pleased bearing the good news, but upon reading the room a bit more, he found that the other were less reciprocal.

Cayde tilted his head further around the door to see Rix-8’s circuits in a tangle and his metalwork scratched and dented, Shaxx looking more tense than usual and Ikora holding the shell of a Ghost in the palm of her hands.

It didn’t take a genius to know what had gone on in his absence, but Cayde was nothing but concerned at the outcome.

“What do we do with him, now?” he asked, nervously.

It took a while for someone to answer, but eventually, Zavala stepped forward and placed a hand on Cayde’s shoulder and headed out of the door.

“We will leave it to the Consensus and the Praxic Order. This decision is beyond us – we cannot reboot him and now he is without a Ghost… Without Light. It is everything he wanted…”

Cayde hung his head.

_Another Exo he couldn’t save. Another Exo lost to the torment…lost to the dark._


End file.
